I'm a Christian, but I absolutely despise ultra-religious "Christians" who preach hate, intolerance, and "damn" anyone who disagrees with their religion just as much as atheists. Also, most of the Bible is metaphorical and not meant to be taken literally. Love and kindness take precedence over petty "sins." And the Bible states that Atheists who live good lives can get into heaven. There's no point trying to convert anyone to your belief or lack of beliefs. Just respect their views and stop trying to act like you're better. In the end, your actions are more important.

did you just say you hate christians who preach hate, intorlerance and damn those who disagree with their religion.... and then say "just as much as atheists?" I'm assuming you meant it differently untl further notice because that is hypocritical as **** .

im a dog, but i absolutely despise ultra-k9 "dogs" who bark hate, intolerance, and "hump" abyone who isnt a dog just as much as cats. also, most of the bacon is for humans and is not meant to be taken by dogs. bellyrubs and pettings take precedence over petty "meows". and the humans say that dogs who are good boys can sit on the couch. there's no point in trying to shake paw if you arent going to get bacon. just dont bite the humans hand or you will get newspaper slap.

25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Essentially, Jesus is emphasizing that kindness and empathy are more important than religion. He praises the "Good Samaritan" while condoning the indifference of a man who claims to be religious, but ignores the suffering of others.

Revelations 21:8
"But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Luke 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Psalms 53:1
The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that does good.

These are the ones I remembered off the top of my head. I'm no Christian, I'm just well educated. The bible makes it abundantly clear that Atheists go to hell.

Revelations 21:8 - This is practically listing sins that defy the ten commandments. Practically stating the common sense of being a good person. It mentions nothing about Athiests having to go to hell for disbelieving in God.

Luke 3:16 - More like a guarantee that you will go to Heaven if you believe in God, although due to the massive amount of contradiction with other passages for that interpretation, it can be easily interpreted simply as the main condition among measurable actions required for getting into heaven. Not at all does it imply that disbelieving will guarantee you a one way ticket to Hell.

John 14:6 - Possibly a statement for Catholicism implying that to believe in God is to believe in Jesus being his Son, and that otherwise is incorrect. Jesus did in fact claim to be the Son of God, after all. But again, its a statement for those who do believe in God, not one directed towards those who don't.

Psalms 53:1 - This passage here is a doosy and I had to look it up. First thing that comes to mind is that it's a part of the old testament, the books with passage meanings that most understand must be taken with a grain of salt. The beliefs between the old testament and the new differ thanks to the time difference, and as you can see in that passage they were pretty hardcore and elitist in that age. Another reason there are so many contradictions in the Bible. Since this is certainly saying straight up that athiests are evil, I can't run a different interpretation by it obviously. But as you can see it contradicts many passages in the new testament very clearly as well, so I would authorize the new testament's teachings in place of many of the old, because times change, and although slowly and surely to fit our ever expanding culures, beliefs do the same.

Right, right, well, still. Consider that changes in beliefs were made with each new book written for the Bible, all that contradicted previous passages. Why? Because cultures changed. And with the culture changes, so to did minuscule bits and pieces of certain beliefs. I think Christianity is at fault for not adjusting their beliefs accordingly to culture changes and minor changes in morals and values, and they stayed stuck with the beliefs of a certain time in the past because no one has written any new scriptures since then. But I mean, it's not like there were any religious heroes like Moses or Jesus either. Back then, religion was the "it" thing, leading and advancing powers and defining morals and values. Today, not so much. So they get stuck with age old tradition, holding on desperately until a new catholic hero comes around to help catholics adjust to today's culture, and they bashed for it. That's kind of just how it is now. It's not ************ , there's just no other way to validate the whole thing, or else it would have been left in the past.

Okay buddy, that's getting annoying. -_- I'm explaining the possibility of an adoptive style for Catholicism, which means God himself, too, if he exists, would so choose to adopt for mankind's sake. Problem is we never got anything God-breathed in centuries.

Those are Vatican appointed, though. I mean, you don't see scriptures being made for every pope that takes the head of the Church, do you? It's not the same thing as being spoken to by the big guy himself, which Jesus and Moses were. When that time comes and miracles start happening, then we have our new modern testament and the like of which I've been explaining.

I truly do appreciate that you are so tolerant and accepting but I have to point out a few things.
1) The Bible was originally meant to be taken literally, however over time the church realized that so many things were scientifically incorrect or just unbelievable in there that they took the stance that it is meant to be allegory and teach a message rather than be literal.
2) The bible says that the only way into heaven is by accepting god and jesus as your lord and savior, no other way. Even now with the new pope trying to say that atheists can get into heaven the church is fighting back and denying that it is true.

I agree that converting people is annoying, but I don't see it as a bad thing to engage in intellectual discussion about why one could or should believe in something. Respecting beliefs is fine but its not offensive to challenge peoples preconceptions or talk about why they believe what they do.

Asking about their beliefs is okay. What bothers me are people who tell members of other religions or non-religious people that they're going to Hell and are bad people simply because they have different lifestyles or opinions. We can't always help our circumstances. If I was born in India, I would most likely be a Hindu. If I was born in the Middle East, I'd probably be a Muslim. The world is filled with different religions, with most teaching similar ideals of love and compassion. And it seems arrogant of us to assume that our religion is any truer than theirs' and call them wrong. Nobody really knows what will happen until the day comes. In my personal opinion, a person's actions are far more important in determining their fate than their system of beliefs. I believe that a kind, honest atheist who lives a good life and helps others has a better chance of entering Heaven than, say, a member of the Westboro Baptist Church.

You are absolutely correct about all of that, its better to be a good person than a crazy pious person. I don't really agree with the idea of living a good life in order to get rewarded with heaven when you die but I think that if there is an afterlife then yes you will be judged on the kind of person you are. Cheers for being reasonable!!!

I left the Catholic church about 11 years ago, but I certainly did not became a cunt to people who believe in it. I like to see a person who doesn't judge people based on what they believe but on who they are.

"Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets." Luke 20:46